Mark Davies, the head of new business at Leicester City FC, tells Kevin Azzopardi that Claudio Ranieri’s prudent approach epitomises the mentality that propelled the club to their maiden Premier League title

Leicester City’s fairytale season has enthralled not only their loyal supporters but also a legion of new admirers who have adopted the Foxes as their second favourite club.

Spearheaded by Italian coach Claudio Ranieri, Leicester achieved the Impossible Dream last Monday after Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea saw them being crowned champions of England for the first time ever.

While the heroics of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel have fuelled Leicester’s title quest, Ranieri’s experience, enthusiasm and tactical nous have clearly played a key role in their transformation from relegation candidates last season to title winners this term.

Mark Davies, head of new business at Leicester City, feels blessed to have a charismatic manager like Ranieri guiding the team as, in his own words, the former Juventus and Roma coach embodies the philosophy of the club.

“We are a very reserved bunch of people,” Davies, who describes his job as “selling the brand that is Leicester City and the Premier League story” to potential sponsors and partners, told Times of Malta.

“We echo the behaviour of Claudio Ranieri. We’re having a great season but like Claudio, we’ve been ticking off every achievement as it comes.

“Our first target was to get the 40 points that keep you in the Premier League... that’s always the aim.

Mark Davies... head of new business at Leicester City.Mark Davies... head of new business at Leicester City.

“Everyone was excited to see how far we could go this season.

“We made sure of qualifying for the Europa League and after that we secured a place in the Champions League which was great.

“With each game, we got nearer to the dream.”

With Leicester’s title feat elevating their profile and global appeal to stratospheric levels, Davies said the club, led by Thai chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha who fronts the King Power group, are already reaping the benefits of their fantastic season.

“The achievements of the players and what they bring to the club as a brand is the real success,” Davies observed.

“Leicester will be playing in a pre-season tournament in the US alongside top clubs like Paris St-Germain, Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

“It’s an achievement for all at the club to be considered in this bracket.”

What makes Leicester City’s story all the more extraordinary is that, only 12 months ago, they were seriously flirting with relegation from the top flight but a late revival kept their heads above water.

The club’s decision to part with Nigel Pearson only five weeks after he guided the team to Premier League survival came as a surprise to many while the subsequent appointment of Ranieri, nicknamed The Tinkerman for his penchant to change formations during his spell with Chelsea, hardly met with universal approval.

The Italian has proved his doubters wrong. Davies believes that Ranieri’s decision to consolidate the foundations laid down by Pearson has been pivotal to Leicester’s success.

“The work that Claudio has done is that he has picked up where Nigel Pearson had left off last season,” Davis said.

“He built on the existing foundations, retaining the core of the side that has been at the club for the past four to five years.

“In 2013, we lost a Championship play-off semi-final against Watford. We missed a penalty and 18 seconds later, Watford scored and knocked us out.

“It was a massive disappointment for everyone but it helped to build strength and steel in the players. The following season we won the Championship with a record 102 points and the players’ steel allowed us to stay in the Premier League.

“What Claudio has done this season is getting the team to play tight and compact but he also released the flair that the players have.”

Further recognition of Leicester’s fascinating season came last week when Mahrez, snapped up from French side Le Havre for a fee in the region of €450,000 two years ago, was named PFA player of the year just hours after helping his team to a 4-0 win over Swansea City.

The Algerian international was joined by team-mates Wes Morgan, Vardy, who this week claimed the Football Writers’ Association footballers of the year gong, and Kante in the PFA team of the year.

“The players with the best statistics are the most popular,” Davies replied when asked to earmark the Leicester stalwarts with the highest marketing potential.

“Jamie Vardy is up there because he has had a fantastic season, Kante has also done well and Japanese Shinji Okazaki is very popular in his country.

“There is obviously Mahrez, with his flair and skill, while Christian Fuchs is very down-to-earth. The players add to the allure of the club. They are not primadonnas and the fans relate to them.”

While Leicester are justifiably revelling in their new-found fame, the expectations and pressures will be significantly higher next season as, apart from their Premier League title defence, they must also cope with the onerous demands of Champions League football.

Consistency

Will Leicester City go down in the history of football as a one-season wonder?

That is something Davies is keen for the club to avoid at all levels.

“Consistency is always the challenge. We have installed the building blocks,” he said.

“There are no guarantees but if you put these blocks properly, you avoid abnormal circumstances. We are determined to prove that this season is not a one-off.”

The purpose of Davies’ recent visit to Malta was to meet up with representatives of Oulala Games.

Led by Valery Bollier, Oulala Games is the company that created the internet-based Fantasy Football game.

“Technology and digital media is the most effective way of growing your brand.

“We are always studying new trends in the market and football fantasy games is something we wanted to be involved in,” Davis said of Leicester City’s partnership with Oulala Games.

“Oulala came to us and we agreed to work with them after making sure that we were dealing with the right people who could deliver what we wanted.”

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